1/48 Kitech MiG-17

Gallery Article by Mikhail Yurchik on Feb 10 2017

 

      

Silent witness and a direct participant in the formation of reactive Era Aviation of the USSR. Unforgivable forgotten places lost components and assemblies, a monument to the Soviet technical genius and modern carelessness. Sun-bleached, battered by the winds and precipitation marching soldiers of Soviet aviation, to date, not kept a trace of its former luster. The plane, which gave way to the sky is not the same ten clubs DOSAAF pilots, remained out of work in today's realities. Forgotten board with traces of vandalism and indifference. The aircraft, which was delivered to more than forty countries around the world and participated in many military conflicts can not just stand on the "margins of empire" in oblivion. Clearly, progress, positive development of science and technology, economic feasibility of the use and maintenance of the technical condition, but its history is not necessary to forget, too.

This is what I am. The great variety of equipment can be found on open spaces of our vast roughly the same condition. Whether it is a monument to some long-disbanded garrison or park godforsaken storage base, or just the far corner of the parking; it does not matter. Important attitude and chilling indifference. One only supersonic past car of the fifties issue worthy of respect. At one time in the development and manufacture of the machine groups and CB plants have invested all their knowledge, skills, after all, the designer put into this car soul. Today...

The idea to create a vignette on this subject for a long time sitting in my head. But I did not dare to take up the embodiment of it, in mind various factors. And one day, having the set retirement age from «Kitech», I decided to experiment. Detail and accuracy set does not shine. Cockpit submitted smooth-walled bathroom, landing gear nerelefnye, but strong; jointing the inner trench type, the geometry is not particularly true as a whole unit.

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The work began with the upgrading of the cockpit. And as I will represent the "not entirely new" aircraft, and the improvements were appropriate. From plastic sheet stretched sprue and painted dashboard (without center), guides and mounting the pilot's seat, throttle, and pipelines. Instead appliances drilled holes. Just tried to depict a fragment of the power set of wings with some piping, he drilled technological hatches and chose the excess plastic thickness. On the authenticity of one hundred percent do not apply, a collective image, so to speak.

Next he engaged in the keel and the tail of the aircraft. I drank a hatch on the opposite wall of the keel stretched sprue simulated power set and piping. Then it was the turn of painting patient carcass. Blew crafts in a couple of layers of aluminum from Revell, top paid camouflage water-soluble paints. A layer of aluminum below for further application of chips and abrasions to the metal. After drying, do a wash on acrylic, painted stenciled bright spots, stars burned and stuck a decal with a blue tail number of the old stock. This was followed by the step of applying pigments and washes to simulate aging, burnout and other troubles for the LCP; In general, a flight of fancy, drawing on a photo of Forgotten aircraft. And also made the ragged from the antenna cord yarn and ragged lines in the niches of the chassis.

Manufacturing the base was next in line. The basis I took a normal frame 13x 18 cm. Originally fanerku located on the back side of the frame, I pasted the artificial turf of the "stars". To simulate the high grass, I used fake fur is white, previously little to set off his green olive and Akan. Then, in place of the aircraft parking freeform cut "bald spots" in the grass. To simulate the soil using gypsum, sifted through a sieve. To fix the plaster blew out all on top of plain water. Then began the landing process weeds out of faux fur. Zvezdovskaya green grass too bright, just as it had to mute the green olive and Akan. After playing the young Michurinists, set the aircraft into place. Securely and in a place of contact the main landing gear, and ground pins of the pasted small needles and drilled wheel.

And finally, I want to say. Sad and sad to watch such "monuments", but over the years their number is increasing. Attitude to the glorious past of the country and its representatives, not only with regards to aviation, leaves much to be desired. Of course, there are isolated cases, where individual samples are recovered, brought to operational status and become the living embodiment of history. But while these are isolated cases, and most likely the exception rather than the rule. In general, we are optimistic, and we hope that such monuments of modern times in a short time, we will only see on the scale" 

Mikhail Yurchik

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Photos and text © by Mikhail Yurchik